This is not entirely what Paula has asked me to address but it is a start. Comments, questions, discussion? I propose the following update to our guidelines: Tina ___ County and Co-County Coordinators: The County and Co-County Coordinator are responsible for creating and maintaining websites at the county level. County and Co-County Coordinator duties include striving to include as much local or topical reference and resource information as possible for their site, adding new and updated content regularly, responding promptly to correspondence and questions from researchers. County and Co-County Coordinators are appointed by the State Coordinator in accordance with national and state guidelines. In making Local Coordinator selections, consideration should be given to knowledge and interest in genealogy in the area, technical ability, activity in The USGenWeb Project, and existing workload. All County and Co-County Coordinator appointments must be authorized and approved by the State Coordinator. Required Elements: Site Naming: Adopting a WIGenWeb local web site means it is a part of The USGenWeb Project, and it must be prominently identified as such. The name of your site should be something like "[County Name] County, Wisconsin, USGenWeb (or WIGenWeb) Project". Project Logo: All WIGenWeb local web sites are required to use the official project name and to have the national USGenWeb logo and the state WIGenWeb logo displayed prominently. Project Name: The name of our parent organization is The USGenWeb Project. The name of our individual state project is The WIGenWeb Project. (Note that there is NO space between the "US" or the "WI" and the "GenWeb"). Our national and state projects should never be identified by any other variation in spelling or character spacing (correct: WIGenWeb, incorrect: WI GenWeb, Wisconsin GenWeb, GenWeb, Gen Web). Required Links: Links to the following web sites must appear on the main page of all WIGenWeb local web sites - The WIGenWeb Project main state page - The USGenWeb Project main national page - The Wisconsin USGenWeb Archives main page - Queries: Every WIGenWeb local site must provide an area in which visitors can post research queries specific to the geographical or topical division of the site. This may be done via email, mailmerge, or through one of the approved query programs for USGenWeb, such as the RootsWeb/Ancestry Query Boards. The USGenWeb national site has a page on Query Management, with instructions for each query option. Queries must be dated so that your visitors (and we) can determine which are the new ones. Care should be taken by the County and Co- County Coordinator to ensure that queries posted are appropriate and on-topic. Queries or posts that are not specific to the locality or topic, inquiries about living persons, and adoption inquiries should be removed or redirected to a more appropriate forum. Resources: Every WIGenWeb County site must provide at least some basic research help for their locality or topic. The more information you offer, the better your site will be. Lookups should be offered if you or your volunteers have received permission to do so from the book's author or publisher or the reference books you have available meet the copyright policies of The USGenWeb Project. County or Topic History: Each WIGenWeb local web site should also provide at least some basic information on the history of the locality or topic, whether it be a short, general history, or longer articles on the history of particular families, towns, etc. USGenWeb Special Projects: Each WIGenWeb local web site should include information on, and encourage participation in, the USGenWeb Special Projects. E-Mail Link: Your main page should include your name, identify you as the County or Co-County Coordinator, and give your e-mail address. Additional Necessities: WIGenWeb State Mailing List: Communication with and between all WIGenWeb Coordinators is critical to the success of the Project. To assure that important information is shared in a timely fashion, all Coordinators will be subscribed to our CC mailing list, WIGEN-L. This is where we discuss all matters having to do with the project. Periodically, the State Coordinator will send out a roll call message. Replies to these messages are expected within 7 days. If you will be away from your computer and unable to respond to any such roll calls for more than a that period, please notify the State Coordinator in advance. To post messages to the WIGEN-L list, send email to WIGEN- [email protected] Only WIGenWeb staff may post messages. Site Maintenance: If you volunteer to coordinate a county or topical site, it is expected that you will have your site online within 30 days. If, for some reason, you will be delayed attending to your site, or will no longer be able to volunteer, it is very important that you notify the State Coordinator of the situation. All county and topical sites will become the sole responsiblity of those who have adopted them and they must conform to the USGenWeb and WIGenWeb standards. If you feel that you cannot maintain your site, then please allow it to be put up for adoption - our viewers expect to see an "active page" with changes and updates being made frequently. Your site should be updated on a regular basis. How often is "regular"? It is probably reasonable to expect that no WIGenWeb county site would be static, or without updates, for more than a 60-day period at most. Queries should be updated at least every two weeks. If you use RootsWeb's Query Boards or another automated system, it is necessary to be vigilant about removing inappropriate queries. Non-Genealogical Content: WIGenWeb web sites may not contain non- genealogical related information. In particular, public personal statements concerning politics inside or outside of The USGenWeb Project are expressly prohibited. Site Evaluations: Periodically, your site will be visited for an evaluation to confirm that it includes certain required elements, to check for broken or outdated links, and to suggest other possible improvements. Please respond promptly to any correspondence you receive pursuant to these reviews. Any required updates identified in the evaluation should be attended to within a week of notification. If that is not possible, please arrange a completion date with the State Coordinator. Advertising/Solicitation of Funds: Solicitation of funds on a WIGenWeb affiliated web site is prohibited. It is permissible, however, to provide a link to a non-USGenWeb affiliated personal web site where genealogical services or materials are offered for sale. It is also permissible to acknowledge any entities who host or provide server space at no cost and to include a link to that entity's web site. If a coordinator lists materials or services for sale or hire by third parties, such as genealogical societies or commercial interests, the home or index page may include a link to the listing, but the materials and services themselves may not be listed on the home or index page. Any such listing of materials or services for sale or hire by third parties should include a disclaimer on the listing page saying that The USGenWeb Project and the site coordinator make no warranty as to the contents or accuracy of any of the materials for sale by these third parties, nor the expertise of any professional researchers listed. Co-Coordinators: All Co-Coordinators appointments must be authorized and approved by the State Coordinator. County Coordinators: It is the responsibility of the State Coordinator to choose a replacement coordinator when a WIGenWeb Couny Coordinator resigns or is replaced. Outgoing County and Co-County coordinators are encouraged to try to find a suitable replacement to coordinate the site, but the appointment must be authorized and approved by the State Coordinator. Recommended Elements: The WIGenWeb Project recommends the following items, though they are not required. Copyright Notice: It is recommended that all websites within The USGenWeb Project carry the following copyright notice: Copyright 2003 by (the name of the coordinator) Be sure to update the year.

>My comments follow the related paragraph..... Linda >County and Co-County Coordinators: The County and Co-County >Coordinator are responsible for creating and maintaining websites at >the county level. County and Co-County Coordinator duties include >striving to include as much local or topical reference and resource >information as possible for their site, adding new and updated content >regularly, responding promptly to correspondence and questions from >researchers. County and Co-County Coordinators are appointed by the >State Coordinator in accordance with national and state guidelines. In >making Local Coordinator selections, consideration should be given to >knowledge and interest in genealogy in the area, technical ability, >activity in The USGenWeb Project, and existing workload. All County >and Co-County Coordinator appointments must be authorized and approved >by the State Coordinator. ............ why would "activity in The USGenWeb Project" play a role? Is this suggesting we should be active or not? Or is this indicating perhaps a conflict of interest? I don't understand how it is related to being a CC. >Required Elements: > >Site Naming: Adopting a WIGenWeb local web site means it is a part of >The USGenWeb Project, and it must be prominently identified as such. >The name of your site should be something like "[County Name] County, >Wisconsin, USGenWeb (or WIGenWeb) Project". > >Project Logo: All WIGenWeb local web sites are required to use the >official project name and to have the national USGenWeb logo and the >state WIGenWeb logo displayed prominently. .............. As a side comment about the logo - it has the year 2000 on it. Is there a reason - does that commemorate something? >Project Name: The name of our parent organization is The USGenWeb >Project. The name of our individual state project is The WIGenWeb >Project. (Note that there is NO space between the "US" or the "WI" and >the "GenWeb"). Our national and state projects should never be >identified by any other variation in spelling or character spacing >(correct: WIGenWeb, incorrect: WI GenWeb, Wisconsin GenWeb, GenWeb, >Gen Web). > >Required Links: Links to the following web sites must appear on the main >page of all WIGenWeb local web sites - >The WIGenWeb Project main state page - >The USGenWeb Project main national page - >The Wisconsin USGenWeb Archives main page - > >Queries: Every WIGenWeb local site must provide an area in which >visitors can post research queries specific to the geographical or >topical division of the site. This may be done via email, mailmerge, >or through one of the approved query programs for USGenWeb, such as >the RootsWeb/Ancestry Query Boards. The USGenWeb national site has a >page on Query Management, with instructions for each query option. >Queries must be dated so that your visitors (and we) can determine >which are the new ones. Care should be taken by the County and Co- >County Coordinator to ensure that queries posted are appropriate and >on-topic. Queries or posts that are not specific to the locality or >topic, inquiries about living persons, and adoption inquiries should >be removed or redirected to a more appropriate forum. ............... are there other "approved query programs"? >Resources: Every WIGenWeb County site must provide at least some basic >research help for their locality or topic. The more information you >offer, the better your site will be. Lookups should be offered if you >or your volunteers have received permission to do so from the book's >author or publisher or the reference books you have available meet the >copyright policies of The USGenWeb Project. > >County or Topic History: Each WIGenWeb local web site should also >provide at least some basic information on the history of the locality >or topic, whether it be a short, general history, or longer articles >on the history of particular families, towns, etc. > >USGenWeb Special Projects: Each WIGenWeb local web site should include >information on, and encourage participation in, the USGenWeb Special >Projects. ................. the purpose? It's hard enough for we coordinator to understand the special projects without pushing this at our site visitors. >E-Mail Link: Your main page should include your name, identify you as >the County or Co-County Coordinator, and give your e-mail address. > >Additional Necessities: > >WIGenWeb State Mailing List: Communication with and between all >WIGenWeb Coordinators is critical to the success of the Project. To >assure that important information is shared in a timely fashion, all >Coordinators will be subscribed to our CC mailing list, WIGEN-L. This >is where we discuss all matters having to do with the project. >Periodically, the State Coordinator will send out a roll call message. >Replies to these messages are expected within 7 days. If you will be >away from your computer and unable to respond to any such roll calls >for more than a that period, please notify the State Coordinator in >advance. ................... is failing to respond in a timely manner a reason for removal of a coordinator? >To post messages to the WIGEN-L list, send email to WIGEN- >[email protected] Only WIGenWeb staff may post messages. ...................... "staff" seems to indicate someone else .... isn't it WIGenWeb coordinators? >Site Maintenance: If you volunteer to coordinate a county or topical >site, it is expected that you will have your site online within 30 >days. If, for some reason, you will be delayed attending to your site, >or will no longer be able to volunteer, it is very important that you >notify the State Coordinator of the situation. > >All county and topical sites will become the sole responsiblity of >those who have adopted them and they must conform to the USGenWeb and >WIGenWeb standards. If you feel that you cannot maintain your site, >then please allow it to be put up for adoption - our viewers expect to >see an "active page" with changes and updates being made frequently. >Your site should be updated on a regular basis. How often is >"regular"? It is probably reasonable to expect that no WIGenWeb county >site would be static, or without updates, for more than a 60-day >period at most. Queries should be updated at least every two weeks. If >you use RootsWeb's Query Boards or another automated system, it is >necessary to be vigilant about removing inappropriate queries. .............. make this WIGenWeb only .............. 60 day period ...... I do agree that the web sites should be updated several times a year. But we are volunteers. This is not a job so we will do what we can. Some can obviously do more if they have more time. >Non-Genealogical Content: WIGenWeb web sites may not contain non- >genealogical related information. In particular, public personal >statements concerning politics inside or outside of The USGenWeb >Project are expressly prohibited. > >Site Evaluations: Periodically, your site will be visited for an >evaluation to confirm that it includes certain required elements, to >check for broken or outdated links, and to suggest other possible >improvements. Please respond promptly to any correspondence you >receive pursuant to these reviews. Any required updates identified in >the evaluation should be attended to within a week of notification. If >that is not possible, please arrange a completion date with the State >Coordinator. ............. Who will do this? What happens if we "fail" this evaluation and don't make the updates within one week? >Advertising/Solicitation of Funds: Solicitation of funds on a WIGenWeb >affiliated web site is prohibited. It is permissible, however, to >provide a link to a non-USGenWeb affiliated personal web site where >genealogical services or materials are offered for sale. It is also >permissible to acknowledge any entities who host or provide server >space at no cost and to include a link to that entity's web site. If a >coordinator lists materials or services for sale or hire by third >parties, such as genealogical societies or commercial interests, the >home or index page may include a link to the listing, but the >materials and services themselves may not be listed on the home or >index page. Any such listing of materials or services for sale or hire >by third parties should include a disclaimer on the listing page >saying that The USGenWeb Project and the site coordinator make no >warranty as to the contents or accuracy of any of the materials for >sale by these third parties, nor the expertise of any professional >researchers listed. > >Co-Coordinators: All Co-Coordinators appointments must be authorized and >approved by the State Coordinator. > >County Coordinators: It is the responsibility of the State Coordinator >to choose a replacement coordinator when a WIGenWeb Couny Coordinator >resigns or is replaced. Outgoing County and Co-County coordinators are >encouraged to try to find a suitable replacement to coordinate the >site, but the appointment must be authorized and approved by the State >Coordinator. > >Recommended Elements: >The WIGenWeb Project recommends the following items, though they are not >required. > >Copyright Notice: It is recommended that all websites within The USGenWeb >Project carry the following copyright notice: > >Copyright 2003 by (the name of the coordinator) >Be sure to update the year. On the volunteer page, once this is approved, I suggest including a short "check list" that coordinators can use to see if their pages meet the requirements. Linda Schwartz Dunn county and still waiting for someone to adopt Douglas county